Calories  

Sandra M. Green                Frazier School
                               4027 W. Grenshaw
                               Chicago IL 60624
                               312-534-6880

Objectives:
              
1. The students will be able to define the following words:
          calories              nutrition
          chlosterol            obesity

2. The students will be able to do the following:
          brainstorm             freewrite
          cluster

3.  The students will be able to plan a balanced meal for a day including
     breakfast, lunch and dinner.

4.  The students will learn how to count calories.
   
5.  The students will be able to read and use a calorie chart.

6.  The students will learn how to maintain a desirable weight.

7.  The students will be able to learn to identify foods that are low in 
    calories. 

8.  The students will learn how to use a data table.

Materials: 

   charts             magazines           hangers        nuts         balance
   thermometers       paper clips         pins           water        matches
   pecans             almonds             peanuts        walnuts      glue
   graduated cylinders                    aluminum beverage cans (empty)
   construction paper                     markers        calorie tables
   data table                             tape recorder  pie tins (aluminum)

Strategy:

         Begin the lesson with a ten minute exercise.
         Discuss what happens when you exercise.
         Show various pictures from magazines of people with model like figures.
         Discuss how models maintain their figure.
         Display before and after charts (pictures of celebrities who were 
         overweight or obese) of celebrities who lost weight.  Examples:  Oprah 
         Winfrey, Luther VanDross, Dolly Parton and Roseanne Barr. 
         Discuss why people gain weight.
         Students will make charts of foods that are high in calories and foods 
         that are low in calories.  Students will be given glue, scissors, 
         magazines and construction paper.  They will cut out pictures of foods  
         that are high in calories and foods that are low in calories.  The 
         pictures will be put on construction paper.  After completing the 
         charts, the students will look at their calorie tables and determine 
         how many calories their charts contain. 
         Students will make a menu for a day (including breakfast, lunch, and 
         dinner).  They will look at their calorie charts and see how many 
         calories they are consuming a day. 
         Discuss with the students how many calories they should consume in a 
         day. 
         Students will be given Tables 1, 2, and 3 and Sample Calorie 
         Calculation. 
         On the Sample Calorie Calculation, space is provided for students to
         calculate how many calories they should consume in a day.
         Students will do an experiment to determine the amount of calories in 
         various nuts. 

Procedure:

           Assemble hangers (students will make hangers into tripods).
           Empty aluminum beverage cans (with tabs) will be suspended from the
           hook of the hanger.
           Skewer a nut (peanut, almond, walnut, or pecan) with a safety pin or 
           paper clip. 
           Pour 100 mL of water from a graduated cylinder into aluminum 
           beverage can.
           Place thermometer inside the aluminum beverage can.  Record the 
           initial water temperature (oC) on the Data Table.
           Ignite nut (make sure nut is on top of an aluminum pan).
           Make sure the burning nut is directly under the aluminum can,
           (flame should be close to the bottom of can).
           After the flame has burnt out, measure and record the final water
           temperature.  Record the information on the Data Table.
           Calculate the average amount of heat released by the nut.

Performance Assessment:

           A nut was found in a Brazilian rainforest.  You are a scientist.
           You would like to find out how many calories the unknown tropical
           nut contains.  How would you determine the amount of calories in 
           the unknown tropical nut?